


Babysitting

by MaggicSorceress



Category: Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types
Genre: Calcifer basically has a panic attack, F/M, Gen, He’s still a demon tho, I wrote this on a whim at 2am, Michael is really only mentioned but he’s valid, and Howl continues to be a jerk, and fat chance I’m getting rid of his fire, so nothing new, sort of human Calcifer?, why? who knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22103584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggicSorceress/pseuds/MaggicSorceress
Summary: Calcifer and Howl and Sophie’s son Morgan have been getting along wonderfully.So wonderfully in fact, that Howl and Sophie decide to leave him behind with Calcifer for the next two weeks.What could possibly go wrong?Spoilers: a lot.
Relationships: Calcifer & Howl Pendragon, Calcifer & Sophie Hatter, Sophie Hatter/Howl Pendragon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Babysitting

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yo!  
> So, this is my first fanfic on this site. I used to be back on Wattpad during my infant years of writing, but I decided I wanted an upgrade. You know what I mean?  
> This definitely won’t be my last work in this fandom because I absolutely adore these characters.  
> Anyway, all comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and I hope you enjoy!

To say Calcifer was annoyed would be an understatement. You know what? Forget being annoyed-Calcifer was _livid._ Not only had Howl and Sophie abruptly left, with no more than a note saying that they would be out of town for a whole two weeks, but they had decided to leave behind their sweet little four-year-old son Morgan.

With him.

In the castle.

Normally, Calcifer wouldn’t have made this much of a fuss. Howl and Sophie had a habit of leaving him alone with their toddler for unforeseeable amounts of time, but _two weeks?!_ That was low, even for Howl. Calcifer had no idea how he had convinced Sophie to leave her son with him, but he figured it didn’t really matter all that much right now. Not even Michael was around to help! Not when he was married and had his own children to deal with, which only seemed to annoy him more.

“Damn those couples!” He snarled. “Leaving me alone to deal with their problems.” In hindsight, blaming Michael for his current predicament was completely unfair, but Calcifer was too bitter to care.

What were you even supposed to do with a human this small? Morgan could barely reach the sink on his own, there was no way he’d last two days, let alone two weeks!

 _‘But then,’_ Calcifer thought, _‘that’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?’_

He huffed, the flaming ends of his curled hair flaring in agitation and collapsed onto what had become Sophie’s armchair. Folding his arms over his chest, he glared at the toddler. Morgan was dozing peacefully on the couch, unaware of the turmoil currently taking place. Calcifer glared a little longer before he realised how ridiculous he was being. He sighed, smoke trickling out his parted lips to curl above his head.

 _‘They trusted you enough to leave you alone with their child for two weeks, for god’s sake!’_ He scolded himself. _‘The least you could do is admit it’s not Morgan’s fault.’_

Sighing again, though this time it was more tired sounding than anything else, he took a moment to fully contemplate his situation. Morgan would most likely wake up soon. Then what? Calcifer figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to get him something to eat, Morgan wasn’t a baby anymore after all, but what if he wasn’t hungry? He might want to play, as Morgan tended to want to do all waking hours of the day, which wouldn’t be a problem. Calcifer knew firsthand how long he could keep Howl and Sophie’s spawn entertained for. Morgan would be content to let hours go by, eyes wide and fixed on the colourful flames dancing along Calcifer’s open palms. So, entertainment he could manage, but what else? As he thought, a slight jab of panic made itself known in his stomach as his thoughts landed on one potentially fatal flaw in this plan. Morgan, as humans do, would need a drink eventually. And he couldn’t reach the sink. And Calcifer couldn’t touch water. Well, technically you didn’t need to touch water to fill a glass with it, but he was still nervous about getting too close to the stuff. It hurt and took him ages to heal from.

 _‘Well, I guess he’ll die then.’_ He joked in a vain attempt to quell the panic rising to his chest.

It didn’t work.

Howl and Sophie had only been gone for three hours, so far, and Morgan had yet to wake up from his nap, but Calcifer had already paced circles around the living room about twenty times. It wasn’t like him, not at all, and he _hated it._ Halting his steps, he forced himself to breathe. Burning the place down in a moment of frustration and fear wouldn’t make the situation any better. He leaned against the kitchen counter and willed himself to relax. He still wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he’d be damned if he didn’t at least try. Calcifer was still lost in his thoughts when the door to the castle creaked open.

“Well damn, looks like he didn’t burn the place down after all.” A cocky voice he knew all too well snarked from the doorway.

Calcifer turned around so fast he was sure he gave himself whiplash. “What are you guys doing back?! Not that I’m not glad, but…” He asked.

Sophie, emerging from behind her husband, rolled her eyes and gave him a soft smile. “Sorry Calcifer, but in my defence, it was Howl’s idea.” She said, placing down a rather large bag on the dining table. “He wanted to scare you a little bit.”

It took him a surprisingly long time to fully realize what Sophie was telling him, but when he did, he practically exploded.

“YOU WERE JUST PLAYING A JOKE ON ME?!” He yelled at the man who had, not more than six years ago, given him his heart. His hair flared and sparked, roaring angrily as he bared his fangs. Howl laughed.

“Come on!” Howl pleaded through his laughs. “I thought it would be funny to see your reaction!”

Calcifer continued to fume for a few moments before all the fight was sapped out of him and he sunk to his knees in a cloud of smoke, feeling more drained than he had in weeks. He pressed his hands to his face.

“You’re cruel, Howell Jenkins.” He whined, words pitching and cracking.

Howl laughed again and made his way towards Calcifer’s crumpled form, shoes squeaking on the old wood. He knelt next to him and spoke lightly.

“You know we wouldn’t actually leave you alone with Morgan for two weeks, right?” Howl said, patting him gently on the arm. “I trust you, but not that much.”

Calcifer let out a breathy chuckle and peeled his hands from his face. “I hate you.” He muttered. “Both of you.”

“I’m making shepherd’s pie for dinner tonight.” Sophie called from the dining table as she continued unpacking her bag.

“…I hate you less.”


End file.
